Rumor: Sony looking to take on Microsoft, Samsung in 12+ inch tablet sector

Current demand hardly justifies new pushes from mobile players in the not-so-mobile 12-inch tablet scene, but Sony reportedly sees great potential there, as do Samsung or Microsoft.

PCs are not dead, there’re merely transforming and adapting to new trends. Convertibles might well be the next big thing in tech, or we could see gargantuan tablets make a move towards the mainstream and steal the laptop’s thunder.

The latter’s iPad Pro rival may actually land before the rumored dual OS-running iOS/OS X hybrid, even though this is the very first time we’re hearing of it. We never knew it was in the works, we didn’t even know it was a possibility.

And as active as Sony is in the smartphone landscape, their slate timidity made such a gamble really hard to see coming. Granted, the 10.1-inch Xperia Z2 Tablet and 8-inch Z3 Tablet Compact are among the coolest, slimmest, beefiest Android soldiers around. But their marketing pushes are modest, to say the least.

It’s hard to believe therefore Sony will be investing a great deal of money in popularizing the looming 12 incher. But maybe it’s not the time after all. Maybe Sony just wants to lay the groundwork and test the waters for when “laptop replacements” of this size will actually stand a chance.

Interestingly enough, the mystery overgrown Xperia, expected out in Q1 2015 by Digitimes, is said to be coming with a stylus and directly go up against the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. The… Xperia Tablet Pro (?) should target “mainly markets that have demand for graphics-related applications”.

Clearly, an optional keyboard docking station in the vein of what Microsoft offers for its Surface Pro line would widen the appeal of Sony’s alleged mammoth. But right now, it’s all to be filed under sweet dreams and groundless speculation.

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